Prince of Red, Son of Black
by Annabeth Zatsune
Summary: I twisted the Story of Evil. So there. Only a few chapters. I used FMAB characters. So no nasty comments, just read. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.
1. Prince of Red

Edward Elric, Prince of Red. He wore the color of his kingdom proudly on his back in the form of a blood-red trench-coat. He was the ruler of an evil kingdom no one dared face, despite only being fifteen.

Edward had a servant boy, Alphonse, that strongly resembled him, and the two were very close. Alphonse was the closest he'd ever had to a friend or a brother, in fact.

Edward was a determined prince. He'd claimed the treasures of the world as his own, and was determined it be so. No one dared contradict him, so he kept accumulating wealth in his treasury.

Now, there were several neighboring kingdoms. The nearest one to his palace, the Yellow Kingdom, was home to the beautiful Princess of Yellow, Winry Rockbell. Edward loved this girl, and felt she felt the same for him.

One day, after his usual trip to the border the Red country shared with the Yellow country, Edward came riding home on Xavier, his horse. He didn't seem to be too happy. He looked as though he'd been crying. His eyes were red, and there were wet spots on his coat.

"Something wrong, Edward?" Alphonse asked, ready to calm the prince as was his duty.

The prince was silent. He dismounted and handed Alphonse Xavier's reins. But instead of going to his chamber as he normally did, he drifted into the stables after the servant.

As Alphonse closed the door on Xavier's stall, he turned to the prince. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Winry..." Edward said sadly. "She..."

"Is something wrong with the Yellow Princess? Did she fall ill?"

"No... She doesn't... She doesn't love me..."

"Oh!" Alphonse wasn't feigning sympathy, and the royal youngster knew that. The servant was truly sorry for him.

"I went to her today with a marriage proposal, and she turned me down... She said she loved the Prince of the neighboring country, the Orange Prince, Jean Havoc!"

He broke down, falling into Alphonse's arms. "There, there. It'll be alright. Don't cry." Alphonse told him, patting his back and holding him tightly.

The young servant led his lord back to his chambers, carefully removing the prince's riding clothes and tucking him in. He reassured Edward that everything would be better in the morning, that he shouldn't cry.

Next morning, Edward gave Alphonse an unusual order. "Come with me to see my councilor, Alphonse!" he snapped.

Alphonse bowed, obeying his master.

The councilor, Envy, was normally kept in a cage. He was in charge of just about all the things that Prince Edward ordered. But his favorite things to carry out were the execution orders and writing up declarations of war. Envy wasn't the kindest man, so he normally relished in Edward's orders.

Envy cracked open one red eye. Seeing that it was the prince, he stood and bowed before sitting back down. "Yes, Highness?" he asked in his silky tone. "How may I be of assistance this time?"

"I have a declaration to make." Edward said softly, his face cast down to the stoney floor.

Envy stood, walking closer to the metal bars of his cage-door. Edward also came close. In a soft voice not meant to be heard, he ordered, "See that the Orange Country is badly stirred."

Envy grinned widely as his cage-door swung open. "With pleasure!" he bowed before running out the door and up the stairs.

"B-But my Lord!" Alphonse objected, his eyes full of horror.

"Silence! That is how it is. I have given the order, and I cannot withdraw it." Edward growled.

"Of course you can! This is not going to solve anything!"

"Silence!"

Neither of them expected the blow. Hand open, Edward had struck Alphonse across the face. Alphonse held his face, eyes confused and hurt. Edward looked at his own hand almost fearfully, then sadly up at his servant, his eyes also confused, yet also angry. He turned away. "I'm sorry. But you should remember your place, Alphonse." he said curtly. "Come." he ordered, walking away, in the general direction of the throne-room.

"Yessir." Alphonse said sadly, following obediently after him.

The war was long and bloody. But the Yellow Country's army was large and powerful, and they prevailed over the much smaller Orange Kingdom's army. Even so, with every man of the Orange Kingdom slain, Edward was still unhappy. Because of this, he ordered his tax-collectors to be more brutal, his prison-wardens to be crueler, and his patrolling soldiers to be stricter. The people were out-raged. If he had been at least fair before, but now... Now the Prince was cruel, truly evil.

The utter hatred of the people had been building up for years, but now their anger was at it's peak. The were at the breaking point.

Then, the breaking-point.

When a man couldn't pay his taxes, he was taken to one of the prisons, flogged, and locked up. That broke the people's small patience. Now came the rebels, rising up to the status of community leaders. They were powerful icons in the people's eyes.

Alphonse knew this. But he wasn't prepared for the next event.

He was out running an errand for Edward. On the way there, all he got was dirty looks. On the way back, there were also sneers and leering. One person was even so bold as to throw a rock at him. He flinched, but the fist-sized stone grazed down the side of his face, leaving a long scratch. He ignored the pain and continued on. He knew he'd suffer worse if he showed discomfort or fear. Half-way back to the palace, someone grabbed his arm. "You, boy, you're the Prince's personal servant?"

He turned and gazed into the eyes of a dark-skinned man. He had silver hair and wore dark glasses. Behind him was a young woman in a cloak. Her hood was up, concealing most of her features, but her furious blue eyes glared out at him. "Y-yes." he nodded fearfully, swallowing. "Why? Is there something I can help you with?"

"I pity you. You're such a kind boy, yet you're enslaved to that tyrant!" the woman said, anger lacing her words.

"No! He's really just a small child once you get to know him! I've been raised with him my entire life! He's more than a master to me, he's my friend!" he objected, trying to yank his arm away from the man, but his grip was far too strong.

"Well, you tell your master that the revolution is coming. We will not rest until he falls from his corrupt throne!" the man growled. He shoved Alphonse away, making him stumble and fall.

Bravely, he stood up and walked on, not letting his fear show. He was terrified, but he couldn't let it show. If he let his fear show, they'd only hurt him.

When he got to the palace, Prince Edward wrapped his arms around the servant boy. "Alphonse! You're covered in dirt! And you're hurt!"

"It's nothing, my lord, just a scratch..."

"Tell me who did this to you! The murderous little rebel will be duly punished!"

"My lord! A man, one in dark glasses, he gave me a message. He said that the revolution is starting, and that they will not rest until you fall from your throne!" he said urgently.

Edward's eyes narrowed, and he stopped his raging. "Go to the royal doctor. Have him clean that up." he ordered, clearly thinking.

But within a few weeks, the man's threat came true. An angry mob swarmed the castle. All of the staff fled except for Alphonse. Despite the servant boy's urging, the young prince refused to flee. There was a loud pounding on the door. "Edward! Please, run!" Alphonse begged, falling to his knees.

"This is my country, my castle! Why should I flee?" Edward shot back.

The door was slammed open, and the man stood in front of the small angered group. The Son of Vengeance, as he was called, walked over to the Prince, ignoring the small servant. He held a sword to the boy's throat. "You've lost, tyrant." the man said.

"You despicable man!" Edward snarled.

His execution was to take place two weeks later at three o' clock. On the planned day, the bells ticking away his seconds sounded lame to him. He sat in the small cell he was kept in and sighed. The door creaked open. He blearily cracked one eye open.

"You have a visitor." said his warden. He opened the cell-door, and a small hooded figure came in. "Call me when you're ready to leave."

"Yes."

He knew that voice. He waited until the warden had left, then got up and hugged the servant boy. "Alphonse, what are you doing here?" he hissed.

"Quick! switch clothes!" Alphonse ordered.

After five minutes, the warden heard the boy call. He let him out, not noticing any difference.

At three, the boy in the cell was dragged out and to the execution-block. He looked out over the crowd and picked out one face. Looking at that face, he smiled and said, "Oh, look! It's time for tea!"

The ax swung down, and the one cry of despair was lost in the cheers of the crowd.


	2. Man of Vengeance

He lived in a small village. He was an only child, but he lived with his father, mother, grandparents and an elderly uncle. They used to have a fine herd of cattle, but it had all died. One by one, his family died of starvation as well.

The entire village was starving. Desperate, they made a plea to the young Prince Edward. But he refused them. Everything went to the prince.

One day, a rumor spread through the town—The Prince had fallen in love! He was desperately in love with a woman of the neighboring country, Princess Winry of the Yellow. But a few weeks later, another news-flash came. The Princess held no affection for the young prince, instead loving her other neighbor, Jean of the Orange.

Everyone knew the Princess's love would lead to disaster, but no one expected it to happen so quickly.

The Orange Country was wiped out and became a new part of the Red Kingdom.

The people were devastated. And him? In place of the young boy he had once been was now a man, strong and fearsome. The people flocked to him, urging him to be their military leader, to help them fight. He was roused by their emotions, especially when a young maiden with lemon-yellow hair and blue eyes came to him.

The Princess Winry of the Yellow had come to fight with them.

Now he was ready to fight.

"We're going—Come with us!" He held a sword in his hand, leading the people to the castle.

Finally, they made it to the castle. At the entrance, they met a small resistance. One of the soldiers cut down the man next to him and took a leap, aiming for his neck. But he fell, not making it, as an arrow from the Princess's bow lodged in his neck.

When the reinforcement finally arrived, they took the castle. On instinct, he marched to the throne-room.

The young prince stood in the middle of the room, his personal servant kneeling beseechingly on the floor near him.

With the angry cries of the people at his back, he strode up to the boy, putting his sword to Edward's neck. "You've lost, tyrant." he said.

"You despicable man!" the boy snarled back at him.

The servant was led away, and when it was just the two of them, he looked into the boy's eyes and was surprised to find sorrow. "…why?"

He didn't answer the question.

On the day of the execution, they allowed the servant boy to see his master and life-long friend one more time. They were together for about ten minutes, and then the servant called to be let out.

He watched as the small cloaked figure walked away. "I'll let you get away. I too, have become the Son of Evil." he whispered, no one hearing him. He knew it was the prince, but no one else did.

At three, the boy in the cell was dragged to the block. Before the ax was swung, the boy looked out over the crowd to one face. He followed the golden gaze to a shadowed face with tears running down it. "We're the same, that's why." he said softly.

"Oh, look! It's tea time!" the servant said as the final bell rang and the ax was swung.

He was probably the only one to hear it. He couldn't blame the fallen prince. He was like a small and delicate flower. The servant had been a part of him, and now that flower was uprooted completely.

That night, he stood alone in the square where the execution of the 'prince' had taken place. "Where are you running to, evil flower? You have nowhere to go." he whispered.

"_Oh, look! It's tea time!"_

The servant had said that with a smile on his face. Most likely as he always did at three.

"Now I too have become the Son of Evil."


	3. Son of Black

"I'm sorry for being alive."

It was something he said often. Everyone of his village had orange hair like a flame—Except for him, Roy Mustang. His hair was pitch-black. He, with the black hair that no one had, was an outsider.

There was a tree in the forest they lived in. It was huge and ancient. He went there everyday and prayed to God, "I've always been softly complaining a meaningless existence. Living all alone is very sad. I want a friend, someone who won't scorn me."

A few weeks later, he met that friend.

He met him by the old tree. It began when he saved him, unconscious on the ground. They continued to see each other, and before long, they became close. But they were both very different. He was an out-cast, with black hair. His friend had hair as orange as you could get and was loved by everyone. From time to time, he wondered, why did Jean care? Did he pity him, one so inferior?

But he couldn't be.

Jean was his friend, and when he was hurt, pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "You are the most wonderful person I've ever met." So even if the whole world laughed and scorned him, he'd have Jean to come and cry in the arms of. He had a person who needed him, and that's all he needed to be happy.

Eventually, they ran away to the city. They began work under an elderly merchant lady. Even though the setting was strange, they were together, so it was okay.

One day, a young woman came to the mansion. They had only seen her back as she went into the old woman's study, but knew she had to be from the Yellow Kingdom. But then was the chance encounter…

The girl was emerging from the study at the same time as they passed in front of it, and she and Jean collided.

"Jean, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah… What about you, ma'm?" Jean asked the girl.

"Uh… Yeah, I'm fine." she blushed, getting up and dusting herself off.

That encounter twisted everything.

The girl kept coming to visit, and every time, she'd find an excuse to see Jean. She was a princess from across the Yellow border, and the two had fallen deeply in love. So deeply, that when a young prince offered to marry Winry, she refused.

The land was engulfed in war as the order came down from the prince—"Kill every orange-haired man!"

After the war, he went back to the village in the forest. But it was gone.

"Everyone… Everyone is gone?" he murmured, falling to his knees. "Everyone but me, with my black hair… Why couldn't I have died in your place, Jean? Why… why…"

He ran away and found work in a church near the ocean. One day, he went to the port and stood all alone on the dock. "I'm sorry for being alive. Something I've always said. I've always been complaining this lonely existence, but I say it more now than ever."

He'd heard rumor that the prince had died in the revolution. But he wasn't satisfied. He wanted Jean. Turning back to the small chapel, he saw a small flash of red.

Quickly, he walked over to it. He saw that it was a young boy in a dusty red trench-coat. The lad was unconscious. He was hit with a flash of familiarity. Hadn't this been how he met Jean? Saving him while he was unconscious on the ground?

A small smile on his lips, he carried the boy into the chapel.

As he expected, they grew close. But they were so different!

Ed, as the boy was called, had a small arrogant streak, and often spoke fondly of a young boy named Alphonse who had been his friend. Alphonse had been killed in the war, like Jean. Ed had golden hair and eyes, and tried to wear even the smallest bit of red possible.

One night, Ed said he had to make a confession. He agreed to wait for him. After Ed entered the empty confession box, he stood outside to wait.

"I'm sorry I was evil."

His eyes widened. What did Ed mean? He couldn't help but listen in now!

"I see now what horrible things I did. I uprooted a whole country over a girl. I killed the friend of someone I now care about. Roy's friend Jean was the one Winry fell in love with instead of me. I now see… I'm sorry. Please forgive me…"

How could it possibly be?

_Ed was Edward Elric, the Son of Evil, the Red Prince!_

All of the things that had happened because of the evil Prince ran through his head, outlined with blood-red lines. Jean… Winry… His village… The war…

It was the next day.

In a harbor at the edge of town stood a lonely boy. He came silently up behind him, taking the knife out of his pocket. Pointing it at the boy's back, he raised it above his head.

The bell tolled three times, and an image appeared to him.

_A small figure, crouched on the execution block, looked straight at him. "Oh, look! It's time for tea!" he smiled._

"_Oh, look! It's time for tea!"_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blonde figure. The knife fell. Smiling secretly, he put the knife back im his pocket.

"Oh! Roy, you startled me!" Ed said cheerfully, looking at him.

"Sorry I snuck up on you! I just remembered I have a prayer to make! I'll be right back, okay?" he said back. The boy nodded.

He went into the dark church and knelt at the alter.

"There's something I have to apologize to you for, Jean. I couldn't take your revenge. Edward is the boy I was. A very, very lonely boy with no one to call a friend. Living all alone is very sad. That boy who couldn't do anything, improved a little in his baking. The brioche he made today was better than yesterday. But at that moment… in the harbor… I saw an illusion… Jean, who was that boy?"

_Alphonse Elric, servant of the Red Prince._

He had known it, but suppressed the answer. That illusion was the young servant boy. But why?

Thinking back, he saw a resemblance. That boy looked an awful lot like Edward…

But the Prince had died.

But the Prince was alive, his friend.

The servant had been a friend enough to take the place of Edward.

He wished he could've done the same with Jean.

"Roy? You done with that prayer?"

"Yes, Ed! Coming!"


End file.
